The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday said that it had “no detailed information” on a Taiwanese woman who was arrested in South Korea and was reportedly facing extradition to China for her alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of two people in the Philippines.
The suspect could be extradited to China under an extradition treaty between the two countries and the Philippines also has jurisdiction over the case, as that is where the alleged crime took place, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
“The MAC has no detailed information on the case,” he said on the alleged kidnapping and murder of a US citizen and a Chinese citizen in the Philippines in June.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Wednesday said that it would look into the case, Liang said.
Taiwan only has jurisdiction in such cases if the crime committed by a Taiwanese abroad carries a prison sentence of at least three years, Liang added.
It remains unclear whether the Taiwanese is the main suspect or an accomplice, so the minimum sentence cannot be determined, he said.
Liang also said that Taiwan does not have any information on Taiwanese serving prison sentences in China or those who were extradited to China after committing crimes in other countries, as Chinese authorities do not disclose such information.
However, he said the MAC does have statistics on the number of Taiwanese involved in cross-border telecom fraud, and about 600 had been extradited to China from other countries for such offenses from 2016 to May 31.
Reports on Monday said a Taiwanese woman, referred to as Lee Na (李娜), was allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of a Chinese national surnamed Xia (夏) and a US citizen of Chinese descent surnamed Sun (孫).
Lee Na had invited Xia and Sun to the Philippines to discuss a potential business venture, the National Business Daily reported. Upon their arrival on June 20, Xia and Sun were kidnapped and then killed on June 24, the report said.
Red Star News on Monday reported that Lee Na had been arrested in Seoul on Sunday and would be extradited to China.
The CIB on Tuesday confirmed that the suspect was a 44-year-old Taiwanese and that the woman’s real surname was Chen (陳).
Relevant agencies in Taiwan were following the case closely, the Ministry of Justice’s Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs said.
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